The nation of Ireland is famously one of storytellers. It is evident in its lore, with mythological tales weaving themselves into everyday anecdotes and reflections. It is seen in its masterful literary output, one that far outweighs the country’s relatively small population. And, as of late, it is particularly apparent in its musical offerings, with pioneering Irish artists crafting sonic realities and breaking through to the mainstream at an unprecedented rate.
There are of course the obvious examples. Fontaines DC have gone from sweaty rooms in the backs of pubs to selling out Finsbury Park in a matter of years, and their sound has grown increasingly complex as they fly past career milestones with breathtaking ease. The Murder Capital’s ‘Can’t Pretend To Know’ sees an exhilarating return to form from a group whose 2019 album ‘When I Have Fears’ brought an enraptured audience’s attention to the offerings of the country’s alternative scene. Recent discourses of the most exciting emerging acts are dominated by names such as CMAT and NewDad and even this issue features two of the nation’s acts, namely Skinner and Search Results. Despite often being worlds apart in sound, the common homeland of these artists has given rise to the question of who comes next, and suddenly all eyes have fallen on this wildly varied cultural landscape for answers.
Bubbling away beneath that buzz there is in fact a new generation emerging, one buoyed up by the success of acts before them. But these acts don’t belong to a cohesive scene or genre, their sound is wonderfully eclectic and varied, dipping into a tapestry of inspirations and sounds. Take Dublin’s Croíthe for example, whose debut single ‘The Kiss’ is a deliciously shadowy track, clearly pulling on influences such as Suicide and The Cure, but taking strands of the preexisting to weave them into something new.
Elsewhere in the same city we find another act who is building considerable buzz but whose material feels worlds apart. It seems impossible to resist the boundless energy of Annie-Dog, as she takes elements of alternative guitar and driving dance beats and combines them in an intoxicating manner. Her sound is constantly shifting, refusing to settle and instead endlessly evolving, as demonstrated in the subversive and brilliant production of her recent track ‘Double Cherry’.
Meanwhile Adore, a trio hailing from Dublin, Galway and Donegal are working hard to perfect their propulsive, garage rock inspired sound. Tracks such as their latest single ‘Can We Talk’ balance heavy chords with playful enthusiasm, resulting in a stunning backdrop upon which narrative lyrics delving into dynamics of manipulation and toxicity can be delivered.
Much like Adore there is an overt politicism explored within the work of intersectional feminist act M(h)aol, whose narrative centric songwriting is used as a platform to highlight and question the taboo, from period sex to gender roles. Moving away from the spoken-word type lyrical delivery that dominated their earlier material, the band’s sound has become increasingly ethereal in nature, a shift that we are following with eager anticipation.
Portals of Discovery feature inside Issue Fifty-Three of the print magazine.
This sense of dreamy otherworldliness is mirrored in the music of the recently returned The Fae, who received acclaim for their gothic ‘faerie’ inspired sound with the release of their debut material in 2023, but whose momentum was cut short by the singer’s need for a lifesaving liver transplant. Now fully recovered they have re-emerged with that same magic, and their recent release ‘Like Your Man’ proves they have blossomed out of the experience, fusing fuzzy discordant guitar with siren-call vocals to make a truly intoxicating mix. In contrast, Limerick’s Theatre don’t shy away from belting out their emotions, with soaring vocals paired immaculately with jangly instrumentation to create music that serves as an emotional gut punch.
On the south of the country, we find the beautiful coastal county of Cork, where the native Cardinals are releasing consistently emotionally vulnerable, sonically complex music. Their achingly tender track ‘If I could Make You Care’ carefully builds to a blistering crescendo while the raucously fun ‘unreal’ fuses playful instrumentation with hard hitting lyrics. Their fellow city-dwellers Pebbledash are an equally promising act, this time a noisy six piece whose live reputation is causing a stir. Echoing the styles of Deathcrash and Mogwai before them, they explore vulnerability and catharsis with masterful ease.
Cork is also home to an act who has accumulated an immense amount of buzz in recent months, Cliffords. Iona Lynch’s divine vocals are the perfect match to this wonderfully balanced pop-indie project – it is fun, lyrically relatable songwriting that is sure to win the hearts of many in the year to come.
To describe such a variety of acts as belonging to a ‘scene’ feels like a leap. The music is far too eclectic, and despite bouncing off each other’s sound and sometimes landing on the same bill, many of these artists live miles apart and are instead on their own musical path. Perhaps instead then, these artists can be seen as a testament to the vital nature of grassroots scenes, and how they can lead to the blossoming of such an immense variety of acts with plenty left to say.
Portals of Discovery: Ireland’s Next Generation was originally published inside Issue Fifty-Three of So Young. Order your copy here.
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